Mission Research & Development

Image 1:
The photo shows the "energy flash" when a projectile launched at speeds up to 17,000 miles an hour impacts a solid surface at the Hypervelocity Ballistic Range at NASA's Ames Research Center. This test is used to simulate what happens when a piece of orbital debris hits a spacecraft in orbit. (2005)

Image 2:
As part of the Project Fire study in 1962, technicians ready materials to be subjected to high temperatures that will simulate the effects of re-entry heating. This view is of the 9 X 6 Foot Thermal Structures Tunnel.